If I messed up the time for Japan and California in any way, feel free to tell me.
Time: 00:00 hours Japan Time
Location: Inaba, Japan
The silver-haired teen that was at the Junes Food Court, Yu Narukami, stares at the TV for another second before turning away. Maybe Chie was only joking around… As soon as that thought passes, the TV behind him flickers. It continuously flickers and switches between static and the scene playing before him. A girl, with long and wavy, beige-colored hair, writhes in pain, swinging to and fro on the screen. One moment she's on the right side of the screen, then static, and then she's on the left.
As he continues to stare at the screen in confusion, a ringing noise attacks his mind as a wave of dizziness envelops him. He hears a deep voice.
I am thou…
Thou art I…
Thou art the one who opens the door…
The ringing intensifies as Yu continues staggering around the room, clutching his head in pain. Suddenly, lightning strikes one of the streetlights, causing a short electric surge. Yu stands up, breathing heavily, as he tries to figure out what had just happened.
He moves his hand forward, poking at the screen. Ripples immediately form on the dark screen and this time, Yu tries to place his whole hand on it. The screen easily gives way and his hand slips in as though he is putting it through water. A tugging sensation pulls his entire body towards the TV and he grunts in surprise, trying to pull back. But the tugging strengthens and sucks his head in as well.
His left hand desperately grasps the edge of the TV and pushes himself backwards, falling down and colliding with the wooden table behind him. He immediately recoils, clutching his head as the throbbing pain slowly subsides.
He hears footsteps outside his door. "Are you okay?" his young cousin, Nanako Dojima, asks.
"Yeah! I'm fine!"
"Okay…" She hesitates for a split second. "Well, good night." The footsteps recede as Nanako returns to her room and Yu turns back to the TV.
"What just happened…?" He wonders, still in disbelief. He blinks again, deciding that mulling things over will just make everything even more confusing. So, he decides to just go to bed and discuss it with the others.
Yu rolls out his futon, lying down to sleep. As his mind begins to fade away into sleep, he can't help but wonder if someone else has this ability.
Time: 0730 hours PST
Location: Titans Tower
Raven slowly opens her eyes as the sun begins to peek over the horizon. Pulling her hand out from under the blanket, she stares at it for the umpteenth time. She closes her eyes again, letting her hand drop down beside her as she recalls the conversation she'd had with the rest of the team.
Earlier…
"What took you guys so long?" Beast Boy asked, turning around to face them. Starfire was still looking out the window and Cyborg was sitting in deep thought.
"Oh, we just finished watching the Midnight Channel," Robin explained.
"What? But we've been here for a good 5 minutes already!"
"I tried to look up some more info on just what the Midnight Channel is," Robin continued, shifting his gaze back to Raven. "And then I heard Raven so I went over to check on her."
"Did something happen, friend Raven?" Starfire asked, floating over and checking her dear friend to check for injuries. When she grabbed Raven's left hand, she instinctively recoiled away from Starfire. "Friend Raven?"
"I-it's nothing. I was just…a little surprised by what I saw on the television," she stated, her left hand hiding behind her cloak. She can't tell them what happened, not yet. She doesn't want them to have to worry over her.
"Are you sure?" Starfire hesitantly asked.
"I'll be fine, Star. No need to worry," she insisted. Starfire nods, but Raven could tell that she was still unsatisfied with what happened. Her left hand continued twitching uncontrollably.
"Oh yeah! Did you guys get the same person or something? We were talking about it and the person that appeared is apparently the same chick," Cyborg summarized.
"Long, wavy and light-brown hair?" Robin questioned.
The trio nodded. "She was being thrown around the screen, wasn't she?" Beast Boy asked, seemingly excited.
"Yeah, she looked like in pain," Robin muttered.
"What do you think was happening? She can't be our soul mate. We don't even know her!"
"Maybe…the Midnight Channel is something else?" Raven spoke up, her left hand still hidden in her cloak. All eyes shifted towards her and she almost recoiled, but she shook it off. She's known them too long to be fearful of them! There's no reason for her to be afraid!
"What do you mean?" Robin prompted her.
"Maybe, it was a warning signal. The girl on the screen looked like she's in pain; there's no way it can be something that can be easily dismissed." She paused, noticing that Beast Boy still looked confused. She sighed. "My point is, the Midnight Channel could be something dangerous and we need to figure out what that channel really is before something bad happens."
Robin immediately dashed to one of the computer systems by the windows and typed furiously on the keyboard. Cyborg joined him on another system adjacent to him. Within a minute, the two pulled up one forum from Japan. "Star, can you read this?" Robin requested as Cyborg enlarged the page.
Starfire walked closer to the screen, staring intently at the conversation and rapidly translating everything in her mind. "This forum is talking about the Midnight Channel and what just appeared on the screen. They are rather skeptical and confused over how everyone can all have the same soul mate. Hang on…" She trailed off, focusing on another post, one seconds ago.
"Another one showed up?" Beast Boy asked, his eyes beginning to swim as he looked at all of the kanji.
"Yes, the name of the person is Yosuke Hanamura. He is saying that his soul mate was someone who he knew already. He goes on to talk about how his senpai can't reject him now that he has confirmed who his soul mate is."
"What's a senpai?" Beast Boy asked, clueless.
"It's an honorific that students normally give to their older classmates, meaning Cyborg would be our senpai if we were all in a school together," Raven explained.
"Oh." He nodded.
"Someone has replied to him!" Starfire exclaimed, surprised by the rapid debate. "Someone has replied to him and they are saying that the Midnight Channel is a scam and that he should not believe it. He immediately responded, saying that they should not discredit him when he saw it for himself."
Robin sighed. "This doesn't seem to be getting us anywhere. Looks like we're going to have to contact the local police there to see if we can investigate whatever it is."
"We get to go to Japan again? Sweet!" Beast Boy exclaimed happily, pumping both his hands in excitement. "When are we gonna go? Can we go now?"
"Hold on, Beast Boy. We gotta sleep and rest first. Who knows what this could turn out to be?" Cyborg rationally explained.
"He is right, Beast Boy. We might encounter something horrible and we would be too tired from the long trip to Japan," Starfire agreed. Beast Boy's ears noticeably drooped in sadness.
"Don't worry, Beast Boy. We'll all head to Japan tomorrow once I've talked to the police in that area to figure out what's going on and after we get the directions there."
"All right, fine. I'll go and pack then!" Beast Boy conceded, running to his room to prepare for the trip.
"I'm gonna go charge up for tomorrow and pack a few things," Cyborg stated, leaving the room.
"Star, do you need to sleep right away?"
"No."
"Can you help me talk to the local police?" Robin requested.
"Of course, Robin, but do they not have translators themselves?"
"That's right. I'm pretty sure their English is pretty decent. If we hit a snag in communication, I'll let you know tomorrow. Just rest for tomorrow, Star." She nodded and flew out of the room, leaving only Robin and Raven left in the room. She nervously glanced at Robin, who was tracking down the origin of the posts and contacting the police. "Something wrong, Raven?" he decided to speak up.
"It's nothing."
"Doesn't sound like nothing. I can tell you're scared and nervous about something. You've been hiding your hand the entire time we were in here. Don't forget you and I have a bond."
"Robin, even if I told you, you wouldn't believe me…" she trailed off, looking at the ground. She sensed his strong gaze on her and she looked upwards, flinching in surprise.
"Try me."
She sighed, walking past him and up the stairs to the windows. She extended her left hand towards the window where the TV would be playing and placed her hand on the glass. Nothing happened, and her eyes widened in surprise. She pulled her hand back. "Maybe…it was just a hallucination?" she muttered more to herself.
"Raven? What happened?" he asked, stepping onto the ledge and standing in front of her.
"See? Nothing happened. Now stop worrying about me," she redirected the conversation. But she could tell that he, like Starfire, were still unsatisfied with what she said.
But luckily for her, he decided to drop it. "All right, but if whatever happened to you does happen to you again, you have to tell us. We don't want you to risk your life for us," he urged, grabbing her left hand and squeezing it for support.
Raven looked sideways, a blush creeping up her face, and she pulled her hand back. "Got it." She descended the set of steps and headed towards the door. "I'm gonna go and rest for tomorrow." The door slid open and she seemingly glided out of the door before Robin could say anything.
Her left hand wouldn't stop twitching.
Raven sighs, palming her face with her right hand. Maybe she's just being extremely paranoid. As the sun continues to rise, she climbs out of her bed and walks over to the TV. She has to confirm that she's been hallucinating, otherwise, she'd go mad with the possibility that she could put her body into a freaking TV!
Extending her hand once more, she places her palm on the screen. The screen gives way again and she accidentally falls forward. She is pulled into the television before she even has time to react.
Time: Unknown
Location: Unknown
Thud! Raven's back collides with the ground, her breath getting knocked out of her. She sits up after confirming that nothing in her body is broken in any way. Fog covers the entire area around her, hindering her eyesight. She looks around, blinking several times to ascertain just where she is. "Where…am I?" She takes a few steps forward, but the persistent fog prevents her from truly discerning where she is.
Deciding that getting out of the fog is her first priority, she flies up and starts heading in one direction. Noticing that she has yet to even notice anything familiar, agitation and anxiety begins to build up within her and she picks up speed. "Where the hell am I? Where is everyone?" she mutters to herself, fearful of what she might encounter. Suddenly, the fog clears in the blink of an eye and she descends, landing on pavement. In the sky, a strange pattern of red and black stripes continues to ripple as she looks around. "It looks like a…shopping district."
She takes a few steps, noticing how decrepit and run-down the stores look. "Is this recent or is this a ghost town…?" She continues looking around, standing in front of a small open-air shop called Souzai Daigaku. But no one seems to be manning it. "This doesn't look run down…so…maybe this is recent?"
She hears voices up ahead in the distance and she runs over there, stopping when she sees someone. She hides behind a nearby streetlight, peering over to the side with trepidation. She lets out a gasp when she realizes who it is: the girl with long, wavy hair from the Midnight Channel is kneeling on the ground. Standing in front of her…is a girl that looks exactly like her!
Confused, Raven continues watching the strange scene play out in front of her. The girl standing has eyes that seem are glowing yellow and when she speaks, a chill runs up Raven's spine. Whatever this girl is, she's bad news for the one on the ground. "HanAmURa-cHan iS SucH a pAiN iN tHe aSs. HE dOeSn'T rEaLizE thAt I'm jUsT bEInG nIcE tO hIm bEcaUse hE's tHe manAgeR'S son. HE's sUcH a dIp."
The one on the ground mutters to herself, "Th-that's not true. I never thought that about Hanamura-chan."
"HE tAkeS tHe wRonG way. IT's So LaMe. AnD wHo cArEs aBoUT JUneS, aNywAys? mY ParEnTs' SToREs aRE rUiNEd aND theY fREakIng haTE mE. leT's nOT fORGet thAt tHe neIGHborS TalK aBouT mE BEhInD mY bACk."
"What are you talking about? You're completely wrong!" the one on the floor slowly pushes herself up in rebellion and denial.
Her clone continues, ignoring everything she's saying. "I jUSt wish eVEryThinG wOuLD disappear!"
Now, the girl, Raven finally remembers the name, Saki, stands up, albeit staggering, and yells back in defiance. "That's not true at all! None of that is true! You're not me! I refuse to accept the fact that you're me!"
Raven looks away as an unexplainable sense of malice fills the area. The yellow-eyed clone releases a mirthful laugh, full of excitement and a feeling of imminent death. "ThAt'S RIGHT! sAY iT aGaiN! I dARe yOU!"
"You're not me! You're anything but me!" Raven turns back over in time to see the clone convulsing violently. Saki steps back in fear as the clone darkens into a large tendril of darkness.
"YOu'Re RIgHT. I Am ME, noW. AnD I'M noT YoU ANYmoRE!" The tendril of darkness leaps towards her, stabbing her through her abdomen. Raven stares at the scenery in front of her, remembering instantly that this is the scene that she and the others had witnessed earlier on the screen.
The shadow soon consumes Saki, darkness completely enveloping her. Raven runs out of her hiding spot as she tries to save the girl. "Azarath, Metrion, Zin-!" Her hands extend in front of her, but her powers are nowhere to be seen. "What's going on? Why are my powers failing now? They were working just fine earlier!"
"Help! Someone! Please!" Saki's cries are heard from underneath the shadow, but soon, she is silenced. Raven retreats a few steps back as the shadow disappears, taking Saki with her. After standing there in mute shock, Raven turns tail and runs for her life out of the area and back into the fog. Sweat pours down her face as adrenaline courses through her body, urging her to get away from whatever the danger is.
"This isn't good! I have to find a way back and tell the others what happened! This isn't just some harmless rumor! People can die from this! Saki must have been thrown into the TV and then after a short amount of time, darkness will come and kill them! I have to escape before I'm next!" Running blindly, she fails to pay close attention to her surroundings and she collides into something soft and…furry?
"Whoa!" The object rebounds and skids backwards a few feet as Raven falls over onto her back. She instantly sits up, ready to fight whatever she just ran into. But she shifts out of her defensive position when she realizes that it's some sort of…bear?
The bear pushes itself up, standing on its back paws. It has blue fur and wears a red and white jumpsuit-like outfit with three red buttons descending the front of it. There is a zipper going around its entire neck and its big eyes remind her of googly eyes. A tuft of blue hair spikes itself at the top of its head and its ears seem to be twitching every few seconds. "Who are you?" it asks.
Wait a minute. It can talk?! Raven steps backwards, hesitantly, unsure what to do. "Um…"
"Come on, I asked you a question. Who are you and what are you doing here? Don't you realize how dangerous it is here?"
"Of course I realize how dangerous it is! I just saw someone get smothered by darkness!" she retorts, unable to control herself for once. Raven gestures behind her, where she had come from.
"Wait a minute! You saw someone get killed by Shadows?" It immediately redirects the subject.
"Listen you, I just saw someone get killed and I might be next. Do you know the way out of here?" she asks, grabbing the bear by its shoulders. She can't help but feel vulnerable without her cloak. After all, it's not like she actually expected to end up where she is now.
"I can show you the way out, but you have to tell me what you saw! I sensed two people in here and one of them just disappeared when the fog cleared! Are you the reason they've disappeared?" it interrogates her.
"No, you stupid bear! I stuck my hand through my TV and then I was sucked into whatever the hell this place is. And I was trying to get out of the fog when it suddenly cleared up and I was at some shopping district. I saw a girl that had appeared on the TV the night before and she was attacked by something after she denied herself to whatever it was."
"This isn't good. If more people keep appearing, they'll be killed by their Shadow. I have to let you out now before you become a victim. The fog's all gone now and you must escape before it's too late." It pulls itself away from her and taps its foot on the ground twice. A stack of old TVs appears beside him. "If you go through here, you should be able to return back to your world." Raven steps forward, inspecting the TVs.
She notices flickering on the upper screen as people continuously filter back and forth. The one at her eye level shows her room. "What's the one on the to-?" Before she can finish her question, the bear gives her a push. "Hey! What're you doing?"
"Hurry up and get out! I don't want you to die either!"
"Wait! What's your name?" she asks as her hand slips through the screen.
The bear's agitated face relaxes into a simple smile. "I'm Teddie." With that, the tugging sensation strengthens and Raven is pulled through the screen.
Time: 1150 hours
Location: Raven's Room
Raven falls out of her TV, her upper body on the ground and her lower body in the air, a part of her right foot still in the TV. Her door slides open immediately and Robin runs in with a staff in his hand. "Who's ther-!" he stops. "Raven? You're back!" He runs towards her, but stops short when he sees her foot in the TV. "What the-?" She rights herself, pushing forward with her arms and she can feel her foot slipping out of the TV. She pants, trying to calm herself down after what just happened. Robin offers his hand after she gathers her bearings. "You okay?"
She takes his offered hand and staggers over to the bed. "Yeah, thanks."
"What happened? Did you go somewhere?"
"How long was I gone?"
"You've been gone for 3 hours," he answers.
"I was gone that long? Guess time in that place moves differently," she mutters to herself.
"What place?"
"Well, remember when I was trying something out last night?" He nods in confirmation. "I tried it again this morning and I didn't actually expect it to work. So, I wasn't ready and when my hand slipped through the screen, I-"
"Wait, slipped through the screen?" he asks in disbelief.
"I told you that you wouldn't believe me." She rises from her bed, brushing him aside, and stands in front of the TV. "Look." She extends her hand for what could be the millionth time and places it on the screen. She braces herself as her hand slips through. She refuses to go back there alone and die.
"What the hell?" Robin is by her side in an instant, unable to believe that her hand so easily slipped through. She pulls her hand out and he immediately replaces it with his own hand.
"Wait, you might-!" But her warning is cut short when she realizes that Robin's hand isn't being pulled in. "You're not…"
"It's apparently something only you can do," Robin acknowledges, pulling his hand away. "How'd you even get that power?"
"I…I'm not even sure myself. I just felt an urging to reach out to the girl on the screen…and when I poked the screen, ripples formed across the screen. I tried it out and-"
"Was this why you screamed last night?"
She hesitates again before nodding. "I didn't want you guys to worry about me so I didn't say anything." Or for you to doubt me.
"How come it didn't work earlier?"
"I'm not sure myself. Maybe because it's not really considered as a TV?"
"Possibly. What did you see while you were in there?"
Raven recollects her thoughts, her mind momentarily recalling Saki's death. She shakes it off, hoping she won't choke up about it when she gets to that part. "After I fell in, I noticed a lot of fog. I didn't know where I was so I tried to wander around for a bit when the fog suddenly cleared up. I found myself in a shopping district that was probably in Japan on account of all the kanji that I saw."
"And then?"
"I looked around for a bit when I heard voices nearby. I followed the direction of the voice, but I wasn't sure what would happen so I hid behind a street light and I saw the girl that appeared on the screen."
"She fell into the TV too?"
"I'm not sure. But I don't think she fell in by accident. Anyways, she was talking to someone and when I turned around, I saw that she was talking to a yellow-eyed clone of hers."
"Yellow-eyed?" he asks skeptically.
Raven nods. "The clone seemed to be saying a lot of things that Saki was denying. And when she said that the clone 'wasn't her', the clone changed into tendrils of darkness and attacked her."
"Like what we saw last night!" Robin realizes with a jolt. His grip tightens on the staff.
"I tried to help her, but for some reason, my powers suddenly wouldn't work. The darkness disappeared and I ran for it before the same thing could happen to me. I should have stepped in sooner," she mutters regretfully. "Because I was so panicked, I ran at full speed and I collided with something."
"Something?"
"Yeah, it was a bear with blue fur. He called himself…Teddie."
"Teddie?"
"I argued with him for a bit on the situation and he urged me to escape before the 'Shadows' came and attacked me."
"So anyone that appears would be attacked?" Robin mutters, trying to piece everything together.
"That's what I think."
She pauses remembering something Teddie had said. "The fog's all gone now and you must escape before it's too late!"
"I think…when the fog clears up…that's when whoever's in the TV dies." Robin looks at her skeptically. "The moment the fog cleared up, that Saki girl was attacked by whatever it was. And Teddie was insisting that I leave because the fog's gone. He said that I have to escape before it's too late."
"Before whatever that darkness is comes and kills you next," Robin realizes.
"I think he called them Shadows. So these Shadows…must have formed from people's thoughts."
"What makes you think that?"
"Well, the clone Saki, let's call her Shadow Saki for now, was saying a bunch of things that only the real Saki would now. But those facts are probably things that Saki herself has denied because she was trying to tell Shadow Saki that none of the things she had just stated are true. The moment she denied Shadow Saki's existence, that's when she transformed into those tendrils and attacked her," she deduces.
"That could have been you if you didn't run into Teddie," Robin states matter-of-factly. "Whoever or whatever that bear really is, he saved your life."
"We should go back when the fog comes back over there."
"But how would we know? Besides, we can't do anything for a while. There's a dense fog around us now," Robin regrettably comments, looking out her window.
Caught up in the excitement, Raven hadn't noticed her surroundings. She steps away from the TV and situates herself in front of her window. "But it was clear this morning!"
"When I came in to check on you, that was when the fog started rolling in."
"When was that?"
"Around…9," he replies, after a moment of thinking.
"Is it possible…?" she trails off, not sure.
"What is?"
"What if…the fog being here has something to do with the lack of fog over in the TV world? What I'm saying is that, when it clears up over there, if anyone is in there, they'll die and if you think about it, where does the fog go? The fog from the TV world must have somehow filtered itself to over here."
Before either teens could continue the discussion, Starfire peeks her head through the door. "Robin."
"What's wrong?"
"Beast Boy just discovered news from Japan about a missing high school student. They had a picture of the student and she looks very similar to the girl we saw last night on the Midnight Channel," she summarizes.
"What? But she's-"
"Show us at the main room," Robin orders as he follows Starfire. Raven decides to not say anything for now before they figure out just what the hell is going on.
"Don't the police realize she's dead now? Why are they still saying she's missing?"
Time: 1210 hours
Location: Main Room, Titans Tower
"-ki Konishi, age 17. She was last seen leaving her parents' liquor store and she did not come back for the rest of the day. If you have any information, please contact the Inaba po-"
Robin switches off the TV after replaying the news report. "Raven, didn't you say…?"
"I'm positive that was her. I don't want to admit it, but that was Saki that I saw."
"You saw Saki somewhere? Where? We have to go rescue her!" Beast Boy exclaims.
Raven closes her eyes tightly, forcing herself to drive out the memory of Saki's death out of her mind. She feels someone's hand on her shoulder. She opens her eyes and turns around to see Robin gripping her shoulder tightly in support. He seems to be seeking her consent for him to tell the others what she had seen. She nods. "It's too late to save her. She's dead."
That got their attention. Cyborg looks away from the computer screen, Starfire stops preparing food for Silkie, and Beast Boy freezes up. "What are you talking about? She's only missing. There's no way she can-"
"I saw her die," Raven speaks up. Robin's grip on her shoulder tightens.
"What are you talking about? And where were you for the past 3 hours?" Beast Boy asks, beginning to get agitated.
"It'd be easier if we showed you. Raven, try it here. If it doesn't work…we'll have to go to your room," Robin hesitantly states, knowing how much Raven dislikes people going into her room.
Without a word, she flies over to the windowpane that normally projects shows. Unsure about what would happen, she still extends her hand out and this time, it goes in. Starfire, Beast Boy, and Cyborg all jump at seeing their friend's hand slip into the TV. "What the-?"
"Yo! What the heck?"
"Friend Raven, are you showing us some new magic?"
"It's not magic," she replies, her hand still in the screen. "It's more like I can travel to another dimension."
"Don't you already do that?" Cyborg asks.
"In case you didn't notice, I don't need any incantation whatsoever to do this." She feels a slight tugging and she immediately pulls her hand out before it can suck her back in. She might not be lucky and have Teddie help her escape again like last time.
"Dude, that's so cool!" Beast Boy excitedly squeals, leaping towards her and tries to stick his hand through the screen. "Huh? How come I can't do it?"
"For some reason, only Raven can do it."
"I don't know why either. But I heard a voice after I left this room last night. Then, as I was watching the Midnight Channel, I heard another voice. And I tried to reach out to the girl on the screen when my hand got pulled in. Before my entire body could be pulled in, I managed to force myself back out," she summarizes for them.
"And this morning, she tried it again and she accidentally fell in as a result. While there, she tried to find a way out when the fog in there suddenly cleared up. She was suddenly in a Japanese shopping district and that was where she met Saki," Robin continues for her. She nods in gratitude, noticing that his hand still hasn't left her shoulder. "Another being was there, and Raven calls it the Shadow Saki."
"Shadow Saki?" Beast Boy asks, becoming even more confused by the second.
"I believe the Shadow is something like the hidden side of a person. The side that they want to show people, but they're afraid to. Anyway, the Shadow continued stating facts that the real Saki has thought of, but she strongly rejected the Shadow. As a result, the Shadow transformed, attacked, and killed Saki."
"Why didn't you do anything?"
"My powers wouldn't work, Beast Boy. Something about that other place gives me a bad feeling. I think it can negate all of our powers."
"How the hell is that even possible?"
"I don't know! I was lucky to escape myself!" she yells, agitated. "When I realized I couldn't do anything, I fled. After a while of running, I ran into something and it turned out to be a resident of that other world."
"And you somehow managed to escape from it?"
"No, he actually helped me escape. He called himself Teddie and he managed to somehow procure small TVs stacked upon one another. The one at my eye-level was the one that I used to escape," she finishes her explanation, sinking down onto the couch with an exhausted sigh.
"We have to go to Inaba and tell them about Saki. I managed to get in contact with the police station there and they said they'll prepare some accommodations for us at an inn in the town. Are you guys all packed up and ready to go?" Robin asks as he grabs a small red backpack that most likely only continues extra weaponry and extra sets of his uniform.
"Got everything I need right here," Cyborg pats a black duffel bag by his side. Beast Boy sits atop three luggage, all teeming with what one could say is his entire room packed up.
Starfire pats her alien luggage as it rests atop the table in front of the couch. The rest of the team still can't figure out how such a small alien can fit all of her clothing.
"I don't need to pack," Raven states, taking a few calming breaths.
"We'll go when you're ready, Raven," Robin comforts her.
"We can go now," she suggests. "The flight is roughly 11 hours even with our T-ship so by the time we arrive, it'd be the afternoon over in Japan."
"Are you sure you'll be-"
"Yes, Robin," she emphasizes. "Trust me. I'll be okay." She tries to give him a reassuring smile, which only causes him to worry more. But he grudgingly accepts that she does have a point about the timing.
"All right." He stands up, heading out the door. "Let's go."
The biggest struggle was finding a good spot to end the chapter in. I felt that ending it around the time Raven returned from the Shadow world would be too short so I tried to extend it which led to this ^^;
Anyways, please review! They motivate me to work harder and upload faster ^_^